1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waterproof connector of a compact multi-polar type that has an enhanced waterproof nature between a connector housing assembly and a plurality of electric wires provided with terminals attached to their ends.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Such a type of waterproof connector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 10-60096 filed in Japan by the assignee of the present application.
This waterproof connector comprises: a connector housing assembly having a terminal accommodating cavity and a number of separated wire leading cavities which communicate with outside via a number of diameter-reduced wire insertion holes formed in an outer wall of the housing assembly and with the terminal accommodating cavity via a number of diameter-reduced wire insertion holes formed in an inner wall of the housing assembly; a number of waterproof rubber plugs fitted watertight in the wire leading cavities and formed with wire leading holes; a number of female terminals set in positions in the terminal accommodating cavity; and a number of insulated electric wires provided through the wire insertion holes at the outer end, the wire leading holes in the rubber plugs and the wire insertion holes at the inner end, and connected at their ends to the terminals.
The housing assembly comprises a synthetic-resin-made inner housing, a synthetic-resin-made outer housing loose-fitted on the inner housing, and a synthetic-resin-made spacer inserted tight between the inner and outer housings. The outer housing has a rear wall portion constituting the above-mentioned outer wall formed with the wire insertion holes at the outer end, and the spacer has a rear wall portion constituting the above-mentioned inner wall formed with the wire insertion holes at the inner end. The inner housing and the spacer as well as the outer housing have their front end faces exposed outside.
The terminal accommodating cavity is defined by the inner housing and the spacer, and is partitioned by walls into a number of terminal accommodation chambers for accommodating therein the female terminals. The wire leading cavities are defined by the outer housing and the spacer, and are sealed with the rubber plugs fitted therein.
The outer housing may be damaged for external causes, such as by undue forces, and may be replaced with new one. However, the waterproof connector has sealing rubber plugs, and such replacement needs cutting electric wires connected to female terminals or disconnecting the wires from the terminals before removal of the damaged outer housing or after disassembly of entire connector housing, as well as re-connecting the wires to the terminals before re-assembly of the connector housing. Such services for maintenance takes a significant amount of man-hours.
The present invention has been achieved with such points in view.
It therefore is an object of the present invention to provide a waterproof connector improved for replacement of a damaged outer housing member, by a possible separation before removal of the damaged member and installation of a new member, with an eliminated redundancy for wire disconnection and reconnection, without the need of disassembling and reassembling an entire connector.
To achieve the object, an aspect of the present invention provides a waterproof connector comprising an inner housing assembly for defining a terminal accommodation chamber, a rubber plug member for sealing a wire connection end of the terminal accommodation chamber watertight, and an outer housing member fitted on the inner housing assembly for holding the rubber plug member, the outer housing member being formed with a wire insertion hole and separable along a separation line passing the wire insertion hole.
According to this aspect of the invention, a waterproof connector is constituted with an inner housing assembly, an outer housing member fitted thereon, and a rubber plug member installed therebetween. The waterproof connector has an electric wire lead from outside, through a wire insertion hole of the outer housing member and the rubber plug member, inside a terminal accommodation chamber in the inner housing assembly, where it is connected to a terminal. The outer housing member may be damaged. However, this member is separable along its separation line passing the wire insertion hole. Separated pieces of the damaged member can be removed individually, to be replaced with those of a new outer housing member, which can be assembled along its separation line. An entirety of the inner housing assembly, which has the rubber plug member, the electric wire and the terminal assembled thereto, can be reused with an eliminated redundancy for wire disconnection and reconnection, without the need of dis-assembling and re-assembling the inner housing assembly.
Further, to achieve the object described, another aspect of the invention provides a waterproof connector comprising: an inner housing formed with terminal accommodation chambers for accommodating therein terminals at ends of electric wires; an outer housing fitted on the inner housing, the outer housing having a bottom wall portion formed with wire insertion holes in opposition to the terminal accommodation chambers; a waterproof rubber plug interposed between the inner housing and the bottom wall portion for sealing the terminal accommodation chambers; a spacer having a trunk portion fitted on the inner housing and adapted to be fitted together with the inner housing into the outer housing, and a rubber plug retaining portion for having the waterproof rubber plug inserted therein to be supported in a close contacting manner; and the bottom wall portion being separable along a separation plane passing the wire insertion holes.
According to this aspect of the invention, wire insertion holes become open, as a bottom wall portion of an outer housing is divided into complementary parts, allowing for electric wires to be removed or installed together with terminals placed in a combination of an inner housing and a spacer, as well as with a rubber plug attached to the spacer.
Accordingly, when damaged, the outer housing can be removed, without disassembling the spacer and the inner housing nor disconnecting the wires from the terminals. Then, the wires can be placed in divided wire insertion holes on a divided part of a new outer housing. Divided parts of this housing can then be assembled on the spacer, so that the wires are installed in completed wire insertion holes. The damaged outer housing can thus be replaced with the new one in a facilitated manner, permitting an improved handling for maintenance.
Further, a rubber plug retaining portion provided on the spacer comes into close contact with a waterproof rubber plug which has been inserted into the rubber plug retaining portion. Accordingly, the waterproof rubber plug can securely come into close contact with the wires in the insertion holes, thereby improving waterproof performance in the waterproof rubber plug.